Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, the Hon. Karen Andrews MP, has launched a new $30 million Commercialisation Fund for Australian manufacturers, offering grants from $100,000 and $1 million which will be matched by industry.
The fund will be managed and administered by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) in collaboration with five other Industry Growth Centres: NERA, MTP Connect, AustCyber, METS Ignited and FIAL, and the CSIRO.
The Commercialisation Fund will co-fund projects that focus on the six National Manufacturing Priorities recently announced by the Australian Government as part of its Modern Manufacturing Strategy. These are: Resources Technology & Critical Minerals Processing; Food & Beverage; Medical Products; Recycling & Clean Energy; Defence and Space.
Minister Andrews said the Commercialisation Fund will foster projects that bring industry and researchers together to commercialise new manufacturing products and processes.
“Making science and technology work for industry is one of the central pillars of our Government’s $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy and this fund is just one of the ways we’re delivering on that,” she said.
“The Morrison Government is positioning Australia’s manufacturing industry at the cutting edge of innovation and this fund will help bring together the best of research and manufacturing capability to generate commercial outcomes.”
“We know that by making our manufacturers more competitive and helping them to take on the world, we will create jobs for Australians – both for the COVID-19 recovery and for generations to come,” the Minister added.
The Commercialisation Fund has been devised to support Australian manufacturing projects to transition a new product or process from the pilot/prototype stage to full commercial operations, with the total Commercialisation Fund pool of $30 million to be administered over 18 months.
The Fund will provide matched grants to Australian manufacturers to assist with commercialising new products and processes that finish between Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to 9. Applications for the co-funding grant must satisfy eligibility criteria and partake in an evaluation process.
The Fund is intended to invest in later stage commercialisation, not early-stage research-based programs. However, project applicants are strongly encouraged to include collaboration with research partners and other Australian manufacturers.
Further information regarding the co-funding grants and application process can be found here.
